The news was broken — by Cruise himself — during the studio’s CinemaCon presentation inside the Colosseum theater at Caesars Palace. But before that, Paramount chief Brian Robbins took the stage and complimented Cruise as the “hardest-working and most daring performer in Hollywood,” before confirming that the actor would not appear at the confab in person, as he was busy filming. But Cruise did deliver a “special message,” true to the compliment and his CinemaCon history.
Cut to Cruise on the big screen, standing up from his seat in an antique red plane that, as the camera zoomed out, it was revealed was hovering high above a canyon in South Africa. “Hey everyone,” Cruise said, his voice muffled slightly due to the wind. “Wish I could be there with you. I’m sorry for the extra noise. As you can see, we are filming the latest installment of Mission: Impossible.”

Just then, a yellow plane appeared with M:I 7 helmer Christopher McQuarrie inside, who instructed Cruise that it was time to go. Before flying off, Cruise introduced the first look at the film’s trailer, followed by his upcoming film Top Gun: Maverick in its entirety.

“Let’s all try to have a great summer. See you at the movies!” The plane then veered left and took a steep drop down into the canyon in a death-defying stunt. The CinemaCon crowd loved it.

The seventh Mission: Impossible is due out July 14, 2023, with an eighth and presumably final Cruise-led Mission due out June 28, 2024.

The cast for the new films includes Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Rob Delaney and Charles Parnell.

Cruise’s Mission: Impossible stunts have become a hallmark of CinemaCon, with the actor usually sharing footage of his latest death-defying feat. At last year’s CinemaCon, he and Mission filmmaker McQuarrie showed off a motorbike jump off a massive cliff in a remote section of Norway.

The newest installment follows blockbuster titles Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018), Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015), Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011), Mission: Impossible III (2006), Mission: Impossible II (2000) and Mission: Impossible (1996).

Today’s Paramount presentation kicked off the final day of CinemaCon, the annual convention hosted by the National Association of Theatre Owners. This year is especially crucial for exhibitors as they try to emerge from the ravages of the COVID-19 crisis and compete with streamers.

CinemaCon was canceled altogether in 2020, while last year’s event was a pared-down version held in late August, versus its traditional late-spring slot. This year, all five major Hollywood studios plus Lionsgate and Neon are touting upcoming slates during their time onstage inside The Colosseum at Caesars Palace.

CinemaCon 2022 runs April 25-28.